Aliso Viejo woman spends day in Branson's shoes

Dec. 19, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Shannon Smith tweeted out she'd like to spend a day in Richard Branson's shoes. The billionaire saw the tweet and sent a pair of his limited edition Adidas sneakers to her. They arrived at her home in Aliso Viejo Wednesday afternoon. Now she has to wear them for 24 hours, kids Branson. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Shannon Smith tweeted out she'd like to spend a day in Richard Branson's shoes. The billionaire saw the tweet and sent a pair of his shoes to her. They arrived at her home in Aliso Viejo Wednesday afternoon. She has to wear them for 24 hours, says Branson. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Shannon Smith steps into billionaire Richard Branson's shoes - literally. The shoes were worn by Branson on Necker Island, in London and has traveled from New York City to San Francisco to L.A. to her Aliso Viejo home. His men size 10 and a half Adidas limited edition "Yohji Smith" sneakers dwarfs her women's size 9 feet. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Shannon Smith's brief conversation thread with Richard Branson was displayed on social media. She tweeted out she'd like to spend a day in Richard Branson's shoes. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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This is how the package with Richard Branson's shoes arrived at Shannon Smith's home Wednesday afternoon. The personally-delivered shipment included a T-shirt and signed book by the billionaire. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Shannon Smith tweeted out she'd like to spend a day in Richard Branson's shoes. The billionaire saw the tweet and sent a pair of his shoes to her. They arrived at her home in Aliso Viejo Wednesday afternoon. She has to wear them for 24 hours, says Branson. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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British billionaire and Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson, shown here during a 2010 negotiation to launch space vehicles in New Mexico, on Wednesday sent a pair of shoes to Shannon Smith of Aliso Viejo. Smith had reached out to Branson via Twitter earlier this year, saying she'd like to "be in his shoes." He responded today, and wants her to stay in his shoes for 24 hours. SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, AP

Shannon Smith tweeted out she'd like to spend a day in Richard Branson's shoes. The billionaire saw the tweet and sent a pair of his limited edition Adidas sneakers to her. They arrived at her home in Aliso Viejo Wednesday afternoon. Now she has to wear them for 24 hours, kids Branson. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ALISO VIEJO – In late October, Shannon Smith tweeted that for just one day, she'd love to be in Richard Branson's shoes.

In her tweet, the aesthetician tagged the British biz magnate with the blond hair and goatee who owns Virgin Airways and a private island, and who has a healthy taste for globe-trotting adventure – as well as about 2.5 million followers on Twitter.

Will send shoes!! Branson tweeted back.

"What?" thought a shocked Smith, who had celebrated her birthday a few days before.

She tweeted back: B/day wishes do come true

Her friends retweeted the exchange. The billionaire 62-year-old started following Smith on the social networking site.

Then, the man with an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion sent her a private message.

So, about those shoes ... Can you send us your address please?

Smith, a bit suspicious that a hacker was messing with her, wrote back:

Smith, who for the past five years has given facials to clients of The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach and at Ritz-Carlton Spa in Laguna Niguel, had pretty much forgotten about her cyber-exchanges with Branson until last week.

Then, true to his iconoclastic ways, Branson had an associate email Smith to get her home address – and then tell her the shoes were on their way.

Branson then tweeted Smith, telling her she had to wear his shoes for 24 hours – or send them back. He also posted a video on YouTube and wrote posts on other websites.

In the video, Branson tells Smith that the shoes may be big and have "a little bit of wear and tear," and that he sent them from his 74-acre private island, Necker, in the British Virgin Islands.

From there, the shoes were flown via Virgin Atlantic to London, then to New York, where Virgin Airways whisked them to San Francisco.

From there, San Francisco-based Virgin America media rep Kate Talbot, 28, hopped on a plane to Los Angeles and then into a red Mustang to deliver the shoes – plus Branson's book, "Like a Virgin," and a Virgin shirt – to Smith's gated home in Aliso Viejo.

The shoes arrived at around 2:30 p.m.

Smith, 40, tried on the pair of his black-and-orange Adidas running shoes. She's a size 9; Branson's a size 10½.

"She can wear extra socks," Talbot quipped.

Smith is mulling when and where to wear the shoes for 24 hours. She sees them as a good omen for her business, BeautySmith, which she plans to relocate and expand in the coming year.

After all, she's been a longtime fan of Branson's business as well as humanitarian and philanthropic efforts.

"I've always admired him as an entrepreneur and as a branding genius," Smith says. "He definitely seems to be a man of his word – a man who follows through.

"He loves life," Smith adds. "He's a great example of what all of us should be doing in our own ways."

Talbot said the shoe delivery illustrates Branson's dedication to social media and listening to his followers and fans.

"It speaks to the Virgin brand of being friendly and creative and provocative, and being really connected to the entire Virgin team and the world," Talbot said.

Smith has a boyfriend, Hoda, who was born in London and also is a longtime admirer of Branson.

Hoda, she says, is excited about her getting the shoes.

He's not jealous of the billionaire, she says – but he may be when he reads this parting comment from Smith:

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